The Adventures of Cube Fist Man
by otalku17
Summary: From the infinite possibility known as imagination, a hero was created. Now, in their time of need, he will come to life. No one knows who he is, but like the angles of his fists, he fights for what is right. Rated T for violence and dramatic themes.
1. The Hero from Her Head

**Been a while, I know. Kinda hard for me to make jokes at the moment. But, regardless, inspiration struck me in a weird way this time.**

 **Who doesn't like a good superhero story? Ever wonder if the unique characters and scenarios of Victorious would produce an environment that would support such a story? What if I told you that not only I believe that it could, but they've already established the ideal hero for the job. Well, this is his story(from a focused perspective from Cat).**

 **Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider and his bakery, neither of which I have any influence over/own.**

* * *

As expected by Hollywood standards, the mid spring day was an extremely pleasant one. The sun beamed brightly down upon the city, while a gentle breeze kept the populous comfortable as they walked the streets. Such weather was truly enjoyed by the students of Hollywood Arts, who were sitting at the tables of their outdoor café, enjoying their meals and sharing conversation. One group, in particular, was in the middle of a rather farfetched tale.

"...and then, after they got him off of the rolling bed, we hid a sleeping pill in a cupcake and he ate it," a bubbly redhead said in between her giggles. Her audience consisted of two teen girls, one dressed entirely in black who paid more attention to her phone than the story and a brown haired latina who was having difficulty processing the information she had been given. The redhead was oblivious, however, to her friends' respective responses and continued her story.

"He ran around for, like, twenty minutes after that," she laughed, "Then he fell down onto another rolling bed, and crashed into a..." Before she could finish, her brown haired friend had waved her hands and shook her head, signaling for a chance to catch up with the story.

"Wait, Cat," she began. "What was your brother doing in a hospital if he wasn't sick in the first place?" Cat looked back at her friend with an almost bewildered stare, as if she couldn't understand what was so confusing about her story.

"He heard the sound of a bedpan hitting the floor, Tori," she explained, a serious tone in her voice. "Loud crashes always make my brother do a Three Stooges hospital routine. Right, Jade?" Cat and Tori looked towards the silent teen, who only looked up when she heard her name. Her demeanor clearly told her audience that she had no opinion on the matter, mostly due to the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to whatever was going on.

"I don't care," was all she stated before turning back to her phone. While Tori seemed put off by Jade's demeanor, Cat regained her upbeat persona and let out a laugh. Before she could continue her story, however, three young men sat down at the table. The one leading the trio was wearing a flannel shirt and unconsciously garnered the attention of every female in the area with little effort on his own part. To his left was a nerdy looking young man, who managed to balance a tray in his right hand and a ventriloquist's dummy in his left with little effort. The third, in lieu of a food tray, cradled a keyboard in his arms while balancing a notebook and pen on top of his instrument. They took their seats at the young ladies' table, who for the most part met them with accepting smiles.

"What are you three up to?" The flannel shirted boy asked as he set his tray on the table next to the girl in black, who responded by a hand on his cheek turning him into a chaste kiss.

"Cat was telling us about her brother's latest adventure," Tori explained. "This time he ran through a hospital because of a dropped bedpan."

"He was making people laugh!" Cat shouted in defense of her sibling. "You believe me, right, Beck?" The flannel wearing teen smiled warmly and gave a nod, reassuring the redhead. She then turned to her friend with the keyboard.

"Andre?" She inquired. He looked towards her and gave a quick thumbs up.

"I'm sure he wasn't hurting anyone, Lil' Red," he said. Cat felt her smile grow wider and let out a small giggle to further signify her happiness. She then turned to the boy and his puppet, who had looked towards each other for a brief moment. The nerdy teen opened his mouth to voice an opinion, but the puppet had beat him to the punch.

"C'mon, man," he declared. "That spaz must've got a few of them spun up." While a majority of the group grimaced at the blunt comment, Cat felt her eyes open wide in shock and her mouth go agape. The ventriloquist matched her response, and added a cupped hand against his dummy's mouth in an attempt to silence him.

"Robbie..." The redhead managed to choke out, her voice on the verge of tears. Her nerdy friend quickly shifted his expression from shock, to sympathy for his friend, to anger towards his wooden companion.

"Rex!" He began to chastise. "You know he was trying to help them. Don't be rude!" Rex's muffled voice offered an unintelligible remark before Robbie had set him down on the ground.

"Sorry, Cat," he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "He didn't get enough sleep last night. That's why he's acting like he is." Tori, Beck, Jade, and Andre subtly rolled their eyes at their friend's excuse for Rex, but the petite redhead was more than willing to accept the explanation and return a smile.

"Kay-kay!" She perkily exclaimed. While Robbie breathed a sigh of relief, Beck saw this as an opportunity to change the subject.

"Hey, have you guys been following the news lately?" He asked the group. The majority shook their heads at the question.

"Grandma says the local news anchor is trying to steal her electricity," Andre explained. His statement was met by brief bewilderment by his peers. The musician, however, felt no need to explain the situation any further.

"Well, it looks like there's a spike in crime in Hollywood," Beck said, piquing the interest of his friends. "A lot of people have reported muggings in the area." This prompted Andre to don a concerned face, Jade to raise a curious eyebrow, and Tori, Cat, and Robbie to become terrified.

"Muggings?!" Tori exclaimed. "What are they after?" Before Beck could answer, Robbie had pulled out his PearPad and began to type at the screen furiously.

"According to Fox News," he began. "They take just about everything that they want. From jewelry to cheap key chains." The group were surprised at the thought of thugs taking random items without purpose.

"So that means that they take random stuff from everyone?" Andre asked. Beck nodded solemnly, giving a quick shrug.

"Whatever they decide they want," he surmised. "It's getting to the point where police are issuing a curfew." While everyone had begun to question the safety of Hollywood Arts, Jade merely pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket and twirled them around on her finger.

"Let them try to take something from me," she smirked. "I've been waiting to test these out for too long..." Her devious smile was ended by Beck reaching his hand towards hers and putting it, along with the spinning scissors down towards the table.

"Easy, babe," he casually told her. "We'll probably have to go home immediately after school when they set the curfew anyway."

"So this means no plays?" Andre asked. "No concerts? No fun?" The group quickly vocalized their disapproval of their newfound future.

"This is some serious chiz," the muffled voice of Rex muttered from below the table. His two cents were accepted by the rest of the group. Before they could discuss the matter further, the five-toned bell chimed the alarm that signaled the end of the lunch period. This prompted the group, and all others in the area to pick up their belongings and proceed to the next classes they had.

"Bye, guys!" Cat exclaimed as she picked her tray up. "I going to the celebrity chef classroom to bake some more cupcakes! I'll see you tomorrow!" This piqued the curiosity of her friends, who proceeded to catch up to their redheaded friend.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked. "We have Sikowitz's after lunch."

"Well, after feeding my brother the sleeping cupcake, I give him a batch of regular cupcakes," Cat explained after throwing the remains of her lunch into the garbage. "This way, he doesn't end up hating them. Besides, Sikowitz knows about it and said it was ok."

"But why won't you see us until tomorrow?" Jade inquired.

"I take cupcake baking very seriously..." Cat explained, much to the disbelief of her friends. "You don't know my life." While the group was taken aback by the sudden sass from their perky friend, they quickly took on a concerned demeanor for the petite redhead.

"How long do you plan on making cupcakes, Cat?" Tori asked. Cat merely responded with an indifferent shrug and a laugh.

"I need to make sure the last batch is perfect, so until then," she told the group. "It shouldn't be that long, though."

"But you usually walk home from school," Robbie said. "With the muggings going on, I don't think you should stay at school too late." This prompted the rest of the gang to vocalize their concerns with the redhead's plan.

"The Curly Sue's right," Jade said, covering the nerdy teen's mouth with her hand to stop his protests to his nickname. "You should let one of us give you a ride home tonight." Beck, Andre, and Tori nodded in agreement. To their surprise, Cat responded with a reassuring smile.

"It's ok, guys," she said. "My mom is going to pick me up when I'm done baking. She drives past the school after work anyway, so I'll be fine." While her tone was confident and reassuring, her friends couldn't help but feel like they should stay with her until then. Sensing an argument based on how she couldn't protect herself coming up, the petite teen began to feel tears well up in her eyes.

"You don't believe me?" She whispered, her brown eyes staring wide at the group. Stuck in between not wanting to hurt her feelings and refusing to let her get into a dangerous position by herself, each of her friends began searching for a solution to her problem. Ultimately, Andre came to a quick conclusion.

"We trust you, Lil' Red," he said reassuringly. "Just give us a text in case you need one of us to get you home." Cat blinked back her tears and looked amongst the rest of her friends. Each one silently nodded in agreement to Andre's proposition, allowing the redhead to return a soft smile.

"Kay-kay," she said. "Thanks." The group shared a quick smile before the majority left for Sikowitz's class, leaving Cat to head towards the culinary classroom.

* * *

The aroma of red velvet cake mix and cream cheese icing hung in the air around Cat Valentine, prompting her perky attitude to grow exponentially. In the redhead's mind, she had created the best cupcakes in that moment compared to every other batch made in existence. Such creations required equal efforts in decoration to match their taste, and in that light she had taken extreme caution in making sure each cake had the right amount of icing. After garnishing with red crystal sprinkles, she let out a content sigh.

"Chef Cat is a Cupcake Champion!" She declared dramatically, jumping in place while pumping both fists into the air. She laughed at her alliteration while delicately placing each cupcake within a tupperware, taking each precaution to ensure they retain their quality image. After placing the lid onto the container and securing it, she pulled her PearPhone out of her purse and checked the time. What she saw caused her eyes to shoot open wide in surprise.

 _8:30 P.M.?!_

She couldn't believe how fast the time had flown. While it wasn't too late to call one of her friends to pick her up, she refused to let them realize that they were right to worry about her. She even made up the story about her mom going to pick her up from school to keep them from being too overprotective.

 _It was only a little white lie, anyway,_ she silently rationalized as she made her way out of the school, waving towards the janitor to let him know that he could lock up for the night. _Besides, there's nothing to worry about. Who's going to attack a cute girl with cupcakes?_ The thought of that happening caused Cat to laugh in disbelief as she made her way down the street towards her home. The dimly lit street that led to her bus stop, however, robbed her of her cheery demeanor as it seemed to stretch on and on.

"Give it up, you can't win, 'cause I know where you've been," the petite teen began to sing to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Such a shame you don't put up a fight." Her voice started to shake as she passed by an alley, and dropped completely as she saw four figures step out from the shadows.

"Heya, girlie..." One chuckled deeply as they approached Cat. As they stepped into the light, Cat noticed that they were men in their late twenties, wearing scruffy clothing and evil smiles. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice had yet to return.

"H...h...hi..." She managed to stammer as they surrounded her. At this point, tears began to cloud the girl's vision.

"Whatcha got there?" A voice roughly inquired, as Cat felt a force poke at her cupcake tupperware.

"Looks like the little lady's got some dessert in there," another one answered. "Enough for each of us, at that."

"What a little sweetheart," the third man chuckled, brushing a lock of her red hair to the side of her face, prompting Cat to shudder at the touch.

"What do you say, Red?" The fourth man said, his tone less mocking and more intimidating than his cohorts. "You gonna share your treats or what?" Cat felt their evil eyes staring her down, and could only gasp in response.

 _Oh, no,_ she thought. _Think, Cat. What would Jade do? … I don't have scissors, but this should do._ After completing her thought process, she turned towards the direction that led towards a nearby police station and delivered to the thug who blocked her path a swift kick to the shins. As he hopped out of the way, clutching his leg in pain, Cat took the opportunity to sprint down the street.

"GET HER!" She heard one of them shout, followed by the thunderous footsteps chasing after her. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, all the while maintaining control over the desserts she promised herself she'd deliver. Unfortunately, she felt her pursuers gaining ground and closing in on her. Acting on instinct, she turned down an alleyway in hopes to gain some ground.

 _Oh, no..._

She quickly came to a stop when she realized that she had run into a dead end. Desperate for an exit, she searched frantically for any way out, but the approaching footsteps prompted her to end her search and attempt to get away peacefully. She turned to see the four men walking towards her, set the cupcakes down on the ground and let out a nervous laugh.

"H..here..." She stammered. "P...p...please let me g...go." Her pleas were met with diabolical laughter.

"After that chase, you think you're getting away that easy?" The leader of the group spat as he and his gang stood in the only way out. "No...we'll also be taking a few other things of interest off of you."

"Yeah..." Another thug piped up. "Do you got any iCarly merch on ya? I'm two keychains short of the full set." The rest of the men nodded in agreement, while Cat was petrified due to her lack of key chains. Rather than vocalize the fact, her response was to curl up against the wall and shut her eyes tight.

"Guess she don't got any key chains..." The voice muttered

"Just take her purse and see..." Before the leader could finish his command, the sound of feet landing at the entry of the alley echoed out, catching Cat's attention but not enough to overcome her fear and open her eyes.

"What the..." A voice questioned. "What's this guy's deal?"

"What's he wearing?"

"And why does he have...OOOFFF!" The final question was cut off midway, only to be replaced by what the redhead figured was the sound of something connecting with his stomach.

"GET THE FREAK!"

After the leader shouted, she heard the scuffle of feet and the sound of fists being thrown in all directions. Even though she knew there was someone else in the alley and, for as far as she knew, was fighting against her attackers, she felt safer with her eyes shut. After a few minutes, she the sound of the three other men hitting the ground and groaning in pain. Afterwards, footsteps began to approach her only to stop a few feet from where she sat.

"Pardon me, miss," a deep, yet calm voice began to say. "I think you might've dropped these."

Cat opened her eyes and focused on her cupcakes, which were being held by a red gloved hand. She followed the white sleeve of the arm attached to the hand to find a masked man crouching down to meet her eye level.

He was dressed in a white bodysuit that had a red diamond on its chest and a red belt around his waist. He wore red boots on his feet, and even a red mask that was designed to look like a bandana that covered the top half of his face with the tie strands hanging down his back. The eyeholes had a white material that hid his eyes, but his kind smile remained visible and allowed her to feel more at ease.

"They smell delicious," the masked man continued. "Are they red velvet?" Without much thought about her response, Cat slowly nodded and took the container back into her custody. The man's smile grew bigger as he rose to a standing position.

"I'm jealous," he admitted as he walked towards his fallen foes. "Whoever gets to eat those is truly lucky." The redhead teen silently watched as her savior grouped the thugs together and began to tie them up with some rope, attaching them to a nearby dumpster. As he finished his work, he dusted his gloves off and chuckled.

"These blockheads shouldn't bother you anymore, miss," he said as he turned towards Cat. "I hope you don't mind, but I've also contacted the local authorities. They should be here to escort you to your home and those criminals to their new home." He gestured to his fallen foes as he finished his statement. All the while, Cat couldn't believe what she was seeing. A man in a superhero costume had just saved her from four thugs, and was making small talk with her as he ensured they couldn't flee the scene or attack her again. While she remained silent, the costumed hero gave her a reassuring smile as the sound of sirens began to ring through the night.

"Here comes the cavalry now," he said, turning towards the exit of the alley. "I best be off now. Be sure not to walk alone at night anymore, ok?" He began to stroll towards a nearby set of trash cans and reached down.

"Ok..." Cat began to say, before a sudden realization hit her. Out of all the questions that ran through her mind, only one seemed to matter.

"Wait!" She shouted, prompting the masked man to look towards her. "Who are you?" Her question was met with a triumphant smile and a slow rise. It was at that moment that she realized that the vigilante had been reaching for something behind the trash cans. His hands were slowly placed on his hips, and Cat's eyes widened at the fact that each gloved fist was now a large red cube.

"I am Cube Fist Man!" The masked man declared, much to the redhead's disbelief. "Like the corners of my fists, I fight for what is right!" As he finished his statement, he gave what would be interpreted as a salute and ran off out of Cat's sight. The petite teen couldn't help but stand in shock, even as the flashing red and blue lights surrounded the entrance of the alley. An officer in street clothes with his badge on his belt sprinted towards her while two in uniform surrounded the thugs.

"Cat? Is that you?" The officer asked the young woman, who recognized the voice as Tori's father. "What happened here?" He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders, and turned towards the captured criminals. As he walked her towards his car, she broke her disbelief for a moment to utter one thought.

"How...I thought I made him up..."

* * *

 **Such is the beginning of the adventures of Cube Fist Man. Sorry if it seems a little dark during the chase scene, but that's always the problem with nameless thugs. They only seem to convey sheer stupidity or a primal evil. Anyway, tell me what you think about the story. Do you think Cube Fist Man would provide enough entertainment and excitement for a superhero audience? My opinion is...it could be fun. Oh, well.**

 **Peace.**


	2. What Matters Most

"Cat, you see how I find this difficult to believe, right?" Mr. Vega inquired just before taking a large sip of his coffee. While Cat had remained silent to the officer's inquiry on stopping by the nearest Good Grounds Café and grabbing coffee, she couldn't refuse the grande mocha with whipped cream that he ordered for her. After they had finished their drinks, the cop promised, they would make their way back to the redhead's home.

"But it's true!" She exclaimed. The teen couldn't comprehend how anyone couldn't believe that she was telling the truth. The way she had rationalized, if anyone had told her that a man with cube fists had saved them from robbers, there'd be no conceivable way that they'd be lying. Her insistence only prompted her friend's father to furrow his brow and look out the large window they sat by.

"So, what I should inform my chief is that the four street thieves that have been sneaking past all of his highly trained officers were captured by a vigilante in red and white spandex using only some rope and oversized, cube shaped gloves?" He suggested, a distinct tone of disbelief with traces of sarcasm in his voice, the latter ignored by the normally sensitive teen. She merely nodded an affirmation as she began to finish her drink.

"So, this Block Hand Boy..." Officer Vega began to say, only to be cut off by the redhead.

"Cube Fist Man." Cat quickly corrected.

"...Cube Fist Man..." The police officer slowly repeated, receiving a stern nod of approval from Cat. "If he does exist, then now the LAPD is going to have to put an A.P.B. on the description you gave me." His statement was met with a bewildered look from the redhead. Realizing he'd need to explain further, Officer Vega took a drink from his coffee to gather his thoughts.

"I'm going to have to arrest him, Cat," he explained. This statement was almost enough to make Cat spew her drink out onto the table.

"HE SAVED ME!" She exclaimed as the police officer stared back at her. "Doesn't that mean he should get a medal or something?" This prompted the police officer to solemnly shake his head.

"He's a vigilante," he explained. "It doesn't matter if he's doing whatever he does for good or not. He hasn't had any training or authorization to do what he's doing, this means that he's putting himself and other people in danger. For his own sake, and the rest of Los Angeles, we've got to stop him before someone gets hurt." His impassioned speech had managed to get the young woman to nod, but her eyes didn't seem to agree with what he was saying. After a period of silence, Officer Vega checked his watch and sighed.

"I need to get you home," he finally said. "Your mother's got to be worried sick about you." Cat silently rose from her seat and followed the police officer to his car and maintained her mute aura for the entire ride to her house. While her mind was combating with whether or not Cube Fist Man deserved to be arrested for saving her, it wasn't until Mr. Vega parked his car in her driveway that Cat snapped out of her meditation. Her thoughts rapidly shifted to every possible reaction her parents would give the moment they answer the door. As the light from within the house went from a small beam from the window to a cascade, the perky redhead could only smile nervously as a tall, feminine shadow cut the light.

"Hiiiiii..." She nervously greeted. The woman standing in the doorway wasted no time in lunging towards Cat, which prompted the high schooler to flinch. But, rather than anything bad, the woman pulled the redhead into a deep hug, allowing her tears to soak into Cat's shirt.

"Thank God..." She sobbed as she ran her hand through the bright red locks of her daughter. The teenager felt tears of her own form in her eyes as she impulsively embraced her mother in return. After what seemed like an eternity, Cat felt her mother relinquish her embrace and stand to face Officer Vega.

"Thank you, David," was all she said. The cop merely nodded, giving a soft smile.

"No need to thank me, Bella," he answered. "Turns out a...good samaritan was near when she was accosted. He made sure they didn't lay a finger on your daughter." The red haired teen noticed how he tentatively selected the words he used to describe who he had previously called a "vigilante". However, Cat felt that her mother only cared that her daughter remained as unharmed as she had when she left for school that very morning. The adults exchanged farewells, prompting Mr. Vega to return to his car while Mrs. Valentine escorted Cat back into their home.

"Caterina, why did you stay at school so late?" The mother began as she shut the front door, her concerned eyes showing a flash of anger. "Why didn't your friends drive you home? Why didn't you call to say you needed help getting home?" The line of inquiry was nonstop, prompting the redhead's eyes to well up as she clasped the container of cupcakes.

"Sorry..." She whimpered. "I was making cupcakes for Vinny to surprise him when I got home, and I fo..forgo..." Cat began to trip over own words in an attempt to hold back sobbing. Her mother quickly lost whatever harshness she had within her as she put her hands on her daughter's tear soaked cheeks.

"It's ok," she whispered as her thumb rubbed a lingering tear away from the redhead's cheek. "I just hate the thought of you being hurt by some dirty hooligans." While Cat couldn't help but feel guilty about making her mother worry, but her explanation managed to soothe her sadness. Mrs. Valentine looked down to the container her daughter clasped and recalled the antics that her son had gotten himself into over the weekend.

"Vinny's upstairs in his room," she told her daughter. The redhead nodded and began her ascent to the second story of her home. She came upon a door that had three signs that her brother had, as her father explained, appropriated without permission. They were yellow triangles that formed a large triangle, with the top having a radiation symbol, the bottom left a lightning bolt, and the bottom right a hand being crushed by gears. While Cat often voiced her disgust of the last sign, she knew that her brother was harmless and wouldn't actually cause any of those things to happen to anyone.

"Vinny?" She called out after a few knocks on his door. Much to her surprise, there was no answer. Out of curiosity, she turned the doorknob to see if he locked himself in. She soon realized that wasn't the case after the door gave way and allowed her to view the cluttered space that her brother called his room. The most noteworthy items of interest were the massive pile of clothes in the center of his room and the large tank against the wall that held a red eared slider turtle resting on a rock underneath a heating lamp.

"Hey there, Sylvio," the teenager softly greeted the reptile as she set her deserts down next to the tank. "Have you seen my brother?" Cat patiently waited for a response, but the turtle merely blinked at the sudden change in his scenery. Just as Cat was ready to shrug and walk out of the room, she felt something brush past her leg, prompting her to jump towards the door.

"EEEK!" She screamed as her eyes darted towards the floor. She realized that it was a hand that had made it's way out of the clothes pile, followed by the other hand and two legs. It wasn't until she saw the unkempt blue hair peek out from the pile that the redhead's frightened face suddenly became flustered.

"Vinny!" She exclaimed as she stamped her foot. Her brother couldn't help but smile at his sister's pouting face.

"Hello to you, Kitty," he greeted.

"What are you doing?" She replied.

"Well, Sheila, as you right well know, ol' Syl's been having some back trouble as of late," Vinny responded, suddenly donning an Australian accent. "Now, I ain't gonna have my cold blooded pal be lonely like that. So I built meself a shell and crawled in, snug as a bug in a rug. Ain't that right, mate?" Cat looked towards the tank, where she realized that the turtle seemed to look towards her brother, which was all he needed to affirm his actions.

"Ripper!" He told his pet with a prompt thumbs up. "So, what brings you 'ere, Sheila?" He turned his attention to his sister, who began to move towards the tank.

"Weeellll..." Cat began as she went for her cupcakes, "I made something for you at school today..." She promptly opened the top of the container, which caused Vinny to begin audibly sniffing the air as he fully emerged from his "shell". She noticed that he was wearing the hoodie that she got him for his last birthday, which he insisted on keeping even though she got one that was two sizes too big for him.

"Vat ees zis?" He questioned himself, changing his accent to French. "Ze aroma...cocoa, cream cheese, a dash of ze beetroot for color..." His gaze quickly found the deserts in the hands of his younger sister, prompting a wide smile to grow on his face.

"Ohoho!" Vinny exclaimed. "Red Velvet Cupcakes! Kitty, vous êtes merveilleux!" The red headed teen couldn't help but smile at the antics of her brother. He wasted no time and grabbed the closest cupcake, taking a seat on the floor as he began to peel away the wrapping. He patted a spot next to him without taking his eyes off of his treat, signaling that he wanted his sister to stay.

"So," Vinny said as he finished removing the wrapper and throwing it on top of his pile of laundry. "Mom was doing a loooot of walking back and forth today. She also kept doing that thing she does during dinner and on Sundays, asking to make sure you came home ok." Cat's eyes widened in response. While her brother's tone returned to normal, and his focus remained on the cupcake, she knew he expected some form of explanation. As he took a bite, she quickly decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell him the full truth.

"Well, you know how I said I made you cupcakes at school?" Cat asked. Her brother's blue hair bounced as he nodded rapidly, giving a muffled affirmation between chews.

"Ok," she continued. "The baking took me a really long time, and I didn't know it was late until I finished. So, I decided to walk home and some bad people tried to stop me." This garnered a shocked look from her brother, who immediately gulped down the food in his mouth.

"Bad people?" He repeated, which was met with the redhead nodding.

"Yeah," she replied. "They wanted me to give them everything, even your cupcakes. When I tried to run away, I got stuck in an alley and they blocked the way out." She paused her story to check on Vinny, who began to appear upset. She remembered how doctors told their parents that they'd have to be very careful with how they approach her brother, saying something about a delicate mindset.

"Y-y-you weren't hurt, were you?" He asked. Cat, sensing that she was going to tear up like her brother was, immediately placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"No!" Cat explained with a quick shake of her head. "In fact, just before they tried anything funny...a superhero came to my rescue." The mention of a superhero rapidly calmed Vinny down, turning his expression into one of wonder.

"A real life superhero?" He asked. "Way neat! Was it the guy that looks like a bat? The guy with the big collar? Or that lady in the underwear that looks like a flag?" Vinny's excited rambling quickly died down when his sister began to giggle at his suggestions.

"No, this was someone I didn't know existed," she began. "Well, at least not just in my head. I thought I made him up a while ago, but it turns out he's real...I don't even know how it's possible." The petite redhead began to feel her voice drift off as she lost herself in confusion on how her imaginary hero came to life once again. The blue haired boy, however, seemed unperturbed by what his sister had told him.

"Well, good thing he's real," he said as he returned his focus to the red velvet cupcake. "He managed to keep you from getting hurt. I like that. Can't have a hurt Kitty, now can we?" Cat snapped her attention to her brother, who smiled back as he worked on his next bite. Even though her brother tended to act out in the most peculiar ways or seemed abnormal to almost everyone, she couldn't deny that he had a knack for caring about his sister.

"Nope," she smiled back. "Thanks, Vinny." Cat rose from her seat and gave her brother a quick hug, who merely leaned his head towards her in response while both hands still grasped the cupcake. She exited his room and went to hers, where she let out a tired sigh and jumped onto her bed. After the event she had been put through, the normally perky redhead was more than willing to go to sleep.

 _Ok..._ she thought. _First, I'll check the Slap, then I'll get ready for bed._ Giving herself an affirmative nod, she reached for her laptop and powered it on. After a few minutes of booting up, the redhead opened up her browser and logged onto the Slap. When she saw that there were a large number of notifications waiting on her account, she was excited to see what they were for. Once she further investigated, however, Cat quickly realized that all of them were messages from her friends and none of them sounded happy.

The earliest ones were from Tori, most of them revealing that her father had explained what had happened and him asking why she hadn't given Cat a ride. The next ones were a wide variety of "Are you okay?" and "Please call me!" from Beck, Andre, and Jade, with a few from Robbie at the end. The redhead closed her eyes for a brief moment, thinking about the best way to respond to her friends. She figured that the following conversation they would have would be at least five times as bad as the one with her mother, and no part of her was looking forward to that.

 _Boop be dooop! Wow woo!_

Cat's eyes shot open as her video chat alarm went off, and quickly realized that Jade was the one trying to contact her.

 _Uh oh..._ Cat thought. She forgot to hide her online status, and now her friends know just how to get ahold of her. Impulsively, she grabbed her stuffed giraffe and clutched him close to her chest. Bracing herself for the worst, she let out a long sigh and clicked on the answer button. The video showed Jade sitting in her living room, and like the petite teen predicted, she looked so far from happy that it was almost scary.

"Hiiii..." Cat eventually said to her friend, followed by a meek wave.


	3. Return of a Familiar Foe

**Ok, the last chapter was kinda expository and a little fluffish, and this one...is more expository. But hey, it's all to establish the environment. Not to mention, a fight with Cube Fist Man is something I gotta think long and hard about in order to make it seem right. Enough explaining.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"Hiiii..." Cat eventually said to her friend, followed by a meek wave. Her attempt to maintain a smile for her friend was verging on impossible due to Jade's burning stare through the screen. For what seemed like forever to the redhead, her friend had yet to respond to her greeting in any way. While the goth teen showed no signs of relenting her silent judgment, Cat could feel the tension eat away at her façade and she felt herself transition from chipper to somber.

"Sorry," she said. The statement was met with what the redhead expected, but hoped wouldn't happen. Jade leaned closer to her webcam and drew a deep breath, a sign that she was about to get very loud.

"Sorry? You lied to us, Cat!" She began as her friend flinched. "You knew that your mom wasn't going by school, and you LIED about it! We told you that we'd give you a ride! Vega's been texting everyone nonstop, asking if they had heard from you. Beck was going to pick up Andre and Robbie to ride around the city to look for you! What were you thinking, going out alone after what we talked about during lunch? You risked getting hurt, and for what? Some stupid cupcakes?!" While Cat was right in her assumption that dealing with her friends after her run in with the thugs would be worse than with her family, she didn't think Jade would get this upset. Much to her surprise, however, she managed to keep herself from crying. In her mind, she had done enough crying that night.

"I know," she admitted, causing Jade to raise a curious eyebrow. "But I didn't think it'd take me that long to make the cupcakes...which aren't stupid! I made them for a good reason and you can't make me change my mind about that! I just don't want you guys worrying about me so much. Is that so wrong?" While her normally cold friend showed signs of being shaken by the perky teen's outburst, she managed to keep them subtle in a successful attempt to maintain her cool.

"Cat, we would've worried if it were anyone else in our group," she explained. "Even if the guys said they'd walk in a group, you know that Vega, you, and I wouldn't let them risk it. And I know you guys wouldn't let me walk alone with creeps on the loose. It isn't because it was you, Cat. It's because..." Before Jade could finish her sentence, the redhead heard a few chirps come from the black haired teen's side of the screen. Before Cat could ask what was happening, Jade managed to open up video feeds from the remainder of their group of friends.

Tori was sitting in her living room, and from what Cat could tell, looked like she was attempting to keep a positive composure after being frantic with worry. Andre sat in his bedroom, giving a relieved smile when he saw his friend cuddling her stuffed animal. Beck seemed extremely tense when his screen popped up, but managed to breathe a sigh of relief after a few seconds. Robbie looked like he had lost days of sleep, but seemed rejuvenated once he looked to where Cat's face was on his screen.

"Cat!" The nerdy teen exclaimed. "You're okay!" Cat smiled back at her friend, who seemed to leave his smaller companion out of the conversation the group was in. Even though she accepted Rex more than everyone else, she felt relieved that he wasn't around to say anything too mean.

"Yeah," the redhead eventually replied. "Sorry, guys." In contrast to Jade's initial response, the rest of her friends were far from harsh with their following statements.

"No need to apologize, Lil' Red," Andre said first. "We're just happy knowing you got home safe."

"Same here," Beck followed up. He ran his hand through his hair, which Cat realized, thanks to Jade explaining to her, that he was thinking about something more than he usually does. The petite teen hoped that it wasn't anything too bad, and especially about what could've happened to her.

"Cat, I was so happy when Dad said you were okay," Tori told her friend. "He did mention something about how you managed to get away from those guys, though." This managed to perk the interest of the group, sans Cat. The redhead could only feel her eyes go wide, knowing good and well that what her friend was going to say next.

"He said that some guy in a costume saved you," the latina continued. This managed to get the rest of Cat's friends to give a look of shock, with her becoming the center of their attention once again.

"Guy in a costume?" Beck repeated. "Did that really happen, Cat?" Knowing that she was far beyond the point of lying to her friends again, she replied with a nod.

"Yeah," she followed up.

"No way," Andre replied. "Sounds like something out of a comic book."

"It's true!" Cat impulsively exclaimed. "He saved me from the robbers and waited with me until Tori's dad came."

"Sounds too good to be true," Jade shrugged. "Did the mystery man give you a name?" Cat felt the tension of her friends' eyes focusing on her. Remembering how easy it was to tell her brother the story, she figured that her friends would be able to believe her when she told them who came to her rescue.

"...Cube Fist Man," she said, feeling a smile come to her face. While she couldn't help but smile at her ability to say his name, her friends only managed to don a look of concern at the admission of her hero's alias.

"Cube...Fist...Man?" Tori slowly repeated.

"Didn't Cat tell us about this..." Andre began to ask.

"...A few days after Rex got out of the hospital?" Beck continued.

"Hey!' Robbie interjected. "It's still too soon to bring that up again, guys." This prompted the majority of the gang to roll their eyes in response, while Cat could only nod in agreement to her bespectacled friend.

"Cat, you said you pretended to be someone called Cube Fist Man when the hospital got confused and put you in a 'Foam Room'," Jade began to recall. "How exactly did you get saved by an imaginary friend?"

"I'm telling you the truth!" The redhead interjected. "He had these big, red, cube-shaped gloves on his hands, and he beat the bad guys up!" She was shocked at how no one, other than Vinny, managed to believe her when she told them how she was saved. Her friends disbelieving looks managed to rile up her tears, which wasted no time in welling up in her brown eyes.

"Cat, you only told us about Cube Fist Man, right?" Robbie asked. Cat couldn't help but nod, realizing that she merely mentioned her antics as lunchtime conversation after Rex's accident.

"Maybe...you might've imagined him in the guy who actually saved you out of shock?" The nerdy ventriloquist suggested. His logic was quickly accepted by his friends, save for Cat, who couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush in anger.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" She shouted. Cat hadn't asked her friends that infamous question in a long time, causing them to be caught off guard by her sudden outburst more than usual. The majority of her friends began to scramble for a response, while Jade was far from distracted by her friend's emotional statement.

"Cat, it means that maybe some random guy stopped them, and you made him out to be a hero," she began to explain. "You just came to the quick conclusion that he was Cube Fist Man, and now you only see him as your imaginary hero instead of just some guy."

"He...had...cubes...for...fists!" In an attempt to control her temper, she paused at every word. "How could I have imagined that?"

"Stress does crazy stuff, Lil' Red," Andre offered with a shrug. While the statement only piled onto the redhead's frustration, the rest of the group concurring with their musician friend did no help. Even though she couldn't see her face, she figured that it was starting to get as red as her hair based on how warm her cheeks felt. Not wanting her family bursting in on the conversation, she grabbed the closest pillow on her bed and pressed it to her face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, the pillow doing an excellent job in muffling her voice. When she revealed her face once again, she noticed that her friends were recovering from cringing.

"Why don't you believe me?" Cat eventually asked. "Why doesn't anyone believe me? I know what I saw!" She didn't mention how her brother believed a superhero came to her rescue, knowing well enough that her friends wouldn't be convinced by that.

"Cat..." Robbie said, deciding to end the silence. "It's really hard for us to believe that someone you told us you made up suddenly came to life. It's like...a one in a billion chance of something like that happening. I mean, you didn't tell anyone else about Cube Fist Man, right?"

"Right..." The petite teen finally admitted.

"Well, do you see why we are saying what we're saying?" Her nerdy friend looked almost apologetic as he concluded his argument and patiently waited for her response. Cat couldn't help but feel defeated by their disbelief, and solemnly looked down at her giraffe.

"Yeah..." She sighed. Her friends immediately began to feel the weight of guilt on their minds at the sight of the redhead being uncharacteristically quiet.

"Look," Beck began, breaking the silence. "It doesn't matter who saved you, what he was wearing, or any of that. We can all agree that we're happy you're safe." Cat looked at her computer screen and saw her friends nod in agreement to the Canadian teen's statement. In that moment, she managed to forget about her adamant defense of how her hero was real and felt herself smile back at the group.

"Thank you, Beck," she replied, prompting her friend to smile back in return.

"Sorry to end the celebration so soon," Andre interjected. "But I'm feeling like it's time to get some sleep." This prompted Tori to look towards the bottom corner of her computer, and her eyes to widen once she saw the time.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "Tomorrow's a big day. We need to make sure we're ready." While the gang seemed to understand just what the Latina meant, Cat couldn't help but feel left out in that aspect.

"Wait!" She called out, preventing her friends from closing out their video feeds. "What's tomorrow?"

"You don't remember what Helen said last week?" Jade asked. "Tomorrow's picture day." The redhead quickly remembered how their principal announced picture day coming up soon. Hollywood Arts always did picture day in interesting ways. Cat recalled that the year's theme was "friendly paparazzi" day, where members of the photography club would rush students at random and take pictures on the spot, making it important that everyone look their best for the whole day, seeing as how the yearbook would only feature the pictures taken of them that day and they never knew when their picture would be taken.

"Oh, right!" She said. "Almost forgot."

"No worries, Lil' Red," Andre replied. "See y'all tomorrow!" As he gave the group a curt wave and logged off, Beck and Robbie followed suit and left the chat.

"I'm glad you're ok, Cat," Tori told her friend. "See you at school!" Cat waved back at her friend as she watched the Latina's video feed cut out, leaving the redhead and the goth as the last ones online.

"See?" Jade began. "Everyone's not mad. Ok?" This prompted a smile and nod from Cat, giving the dark haired teen the go ahead to secure her video chat, leaving the redhead alone with her thoughts. Rather than dwell on the day any further, she shut her laptop and made her preparations for bed.

* * *

"I really hate these stupid picture day rules," Jade grumbled. She put together an all black ensemble of a billowing blouse with form fitting jeans. She and her female friends sat at their table in the Asphalt Café, once again waiting for the boys to show up.

"C'mon, Jade, this is kinda fun!" Tori exclaimed. "Normal yearbook pictures can't compare to this." She opted to wear a green jacket over a white top with blue capris. Cat, who opted for a pink sundress and white sweater, merely giggled in response as Jade rolled her eyes.

"We'll see how fun you think it is when the nub with a camera runs up on you and you aren't ready," the goth smirked. "Then again, a bad photo in the yearbook would be worth buying." Tori, not able to form a witty retort, merely stuck her tongue out at her on again off again friend.

"Do you think that we'll get our picture taken before Beck and the others get here?" Cat inquired, looking around the café for a sign of their friends.

"Chances are they already got paparazzi'd," Jade shrugged. "But even if that's the case and they hung out with us all day, we'd still get our picture taken with them." As Cat began to smile at the thought of all of her friends in the same picture for the yearbook, Tori's demeanor was more concerned than pleased.

"Uhhh, I don't think that's going to be a good thing," she said, pointing towards the school. Jade and Cat followed her finger towards a sight that made them gasp in shock. Walking towards the girls were Beck, Andre, Robbie and Rex, each dressed up as well as they could. Their attire, however, along with their faces and hair were covered in a white powder that formed a trail along their path. As they sat down at their table, the girls could tell that the boys, save for Rex, each looked extremely displeased.

"What happened to you?" Tori asked, gathering up some napkins and handing them to her friends.

"Let's just say an old friend crashed our photo," Beck vaguely explained as he began to wipe the powder off of his face.

"Sikowitz?!" Cat asked, taking the term "old friend" rather literally.

"Uhh...not close at all, Cat," Andre told her as he began to wipe the powder away from his eyes. The redhead shrugged off her wrong guess and looked towards her puppeteer friend. Out of curiosity, she reached out and wiped away some of the substance on his shirt and began to stare at it.

"What is this stuff?" She wondered aloud, sniffing the mystery powder, thinking that it seemed very familiar. Acting on instinct, she stuck her finger in her mouth in order to taste it, causing her female friends to cry out in shock and potential disgust. Before they could chastise the redhead, however, Cat's eyes went wide once she recognized what the guys had been assaulted with.

"Flour!" She exclaimed. Tori and Jade looked towards their flour covered friends, who nodded their confirmations.

"You mean...?" Jade began to ask.

"Yeah, babe," Beck said, cutting off his girlfriend. "The Flour Bomber's back." The girls couldn't believe what they had heard, recalling how the young man dressed in a red ski mask and Evel Knievel jumpsuit had ran amok through their school, terrorizing the students with each burst of flour right in their faces.

"But we got him!" Cat exclaimed. "We made him stop!"

"I think he's bored again," Robbie sighed as he began to clean off Rex. "That and his mom still does way too much baking." At that moment, the puppet began to cough and shake his head.

"That nub needs a hobby," he stated. "He ruined my picture!"

"Gotta agree with Rex on this one," Andre added. "Seemed like he waited until just before the camera guy took the picture to get us."

"So he ruined you guys' picture on purpose?" Tori nervously inquired. "Do you think he's been ruining any other..." Tori stopped herself midsentence as the groups focus turned towards a few other students who were cascading a cloud of flour as they walked towards the school.

"Take that as a 'yes', Vega," Jade muttered. "So that creep's going around ruining our picture day. Now everyone's going to look like a bunch of powdered donuts in the yearbook." Her words gave away her distaste of the thought that the Flour Bomber would more than likely ruin her yearbook picture, while simultaneously causing her female friends to become worried about the thought of their photo's being ruined. Before they could vocalize their concerns, they heard the crackle of the PA system over the speaker and a long high note following the static, prompting the majority of the Hollywood Arts student body to cover their ears.

"Alright, students," the voice of Principal Helen began. "It's come to my attention that some nut's been running around school and attacking students with flour or something like that. Seeing as how he's ruining pictures, we're going to do picture day tomorrow after we take a few precautions. Anyone who had a bad picture today gets another try tomorrow. That's all." With the following click from the speakers, the students returned to their conversations.

"Well, looks like we got another shot at a decent picture," Beck stated, prompting Robbie, Andre, and Rex to nod.

"But what if the Flour Bomber comes back tomorrow?" Tori asked. "He was able to slip past all of us for the longest time, he might get us again!" After a few moments of silent pondering, it was Beck who eventually came up with a plan.

"Ok, here's what we'll do," he said. "We'll all show up to school early tomorrow and just cover each other all day. Tori, Jade, and Cat will take their photo op first and Andre, Robbie and I will keep the Flour Bomber from ruining anything. Then, when it's our turn to take a picture, the girls will hold him off. Sound good?" He looked around the lunch table, seeing each of his friends nod their approval of his plan. With that, the bell ending the lunch period rang, prompting all of the students to proceed to their next classes, each one looking over their shoulders for the signs of the next possible attack.

* * *

 **And with that, I think we have our first real antagonist for the story. What do you think? You think that the Flour Bomber will be a good first bad guy for the square handed savior, or would another villain of your choosing fit the mold better? Either way, lemme know in a review. This story doesn't seem to get 'em, and that sucks because I kinda have hopes for it. Until next time...**

 **Peace.**


	4. Blocks vs Bombs: Masked Men Clash!

**Well, here we go. It's about time you get what you're probably looking for. That's right, an action scene that doesn't happen behind closed eyes. Granted, this chapter is kinda huge, but I like to believe that it pays off. Oh, well, it's not my opinion that matters to me. It's yours. So, please...**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The sound of her white flats hitting the pavement of her driveway let out a soft echo in the redhead's quiet neighborhood. Cat shut the car door and gave a wave to Jade just before the goth maneuvered her car back into the street and made her way back home. While it still bothered her, the redhead knew better than to argue with her friend's demands that she was driven home after her run in with the thieves the night prior. It wasn't long before she opened her front door and entered the entryway to her home.

"HELLO!" She exclaimed. As she walked past the living room, she noticed a man walking from her living room. He wore a button down shirt, grey slacks, and had messy, thinning brown hair. A sewer's measuring tape hung around his neck and a smile on his face as he looked towards Cat. Without saying a word, he ran towards her and scooped her into a hug. Picking her up off of the ground, he began to spin around in a circle, causing Cat to giggle in response.

"Welcome home, Caterina!" He said above the laughter of the petite teen.

"Hi, Daddy!" She replied, returning the hug. Feeling like his daughter had enough, he set her down and gave her a pat on the head.

"Always nice to see my little cupcake smiling," her father said. "Doesn't seem like anything can keep you sad for long." Cat couldn't help but appreciate her father's tendency to avoid bad memories, knowing well that he probably was just as worried as her mother when Mr. Vega called their house. However, Mr. Valentine refused to let it show in front of his children. Before he could inquire how his daughter's day at school was, Mrs. Valentine made her way into the living room.

"Hello, Caterina," she smiled. "Jade didn't want to visit?"

"No, she said she had to be home to finish writing a script," the redhead explained. "She calls it The Blade of the Bloody Bride. It's about..." Cat soon saw her mother raise her hand and shake her head in disgust, quickly ceasing her planned summary of her goth friends newest slasher plot.

"I still can't believe that she's into that gruesome stuff," Mrs. Valentine muttered.

"Remember when her and Caterina were all tea parties and coloring books?" Mr. Valentine reminisced as he took a seat in his armchair. "Time flies, Bella."

"I know, Antony," she sighed. "Now our little girl's singing, acting, and having strange picture days." The mentioning of the words "picture days" prompted Mr. Valentine to look curiously towards his daughter, who met him with a less than enthused face.

"Picture day was today?" He asked. "Guess that's why you're wearing the dress I designed for you. Anyways, how'd it go, Cupcake?" As Cat began to explain the antics that ensued at school, the sudden thud of something heavy echoed from up the stairs.

"COWABUNGA!" She heard the voice of her brother call out as the sound of something slidding down the steps began to get louder. Before any of the Valentine family could question what was going on, they watched in shock as Vinny slid on a surfboard into the front door, with the board splintering as a result. Cat rushed out to check on her brother, who merely shook his head and chuckled.

"Total wipeout," he chuckled as he dusted off his floral pattern shirt and trunks.

"Are you okay, Vinny," Cat asked as she offered a hand to help him up. Vinny, appreciating the help, took it and quickly jumped to his bare feet.

"No worries, Gidget!" He said with a SoCal surfer accent. "I've had worse wipeouts down at the mall."

"Vincenzo Valentine!" The frustrated shout of their mother caused the siblings to jump and cringe. As the duo looked into the living room to see their parents standing near the doorway. Mrs. Valentine's eyes spoke all the words that the children knew were coming, while their father merely looked towards his son with great concern.

"Wassup, Wahine?" Vinny asked his mother, surprisingly sounding very relaxed and regaining a mellow composure. "Looks like you lost your chill..."

"Don't you dare start with me, Vincenzo," she warned her son. "What were you thinking, doing something so reckless? You could've broken your neck!" Vinny opened his mouth to defend himself, but a quick glance towards his redheaded sister was all he needed to remind himself that their mother wasn't in a joking mood.

"Sorry, Ma," he said in his normal voice. "Guess I wasn't thinking again." His return to semi normalcy was enough to calm Mrs. Valentine down, who turned her attention towards the now broken surfboard laying on her floor.

"Where on earth did you get that thing?" She asked. "I don't remember buying you one."

"I found it at the dump when I drove by today," Vinny explained, gesturing with a thumb towards the splintered wood. "Which reminds me..." The blue haired young man then turned his attention to his father, approached him, and raised a palm towards his mouth that blocked it from the view of his mother and sister.

"I took care of that, uh...trash problem you told me about, boss," he whispered in a New York accent. "You can sleep well knowing that our guys will ensure he... I mean it, will never bother you or your family again." While he did a terrible job at keeping his voice low enough that Cat and Mrs. Valentine couldn't hear him, he was never the less unperturbed. Mr. Valentine stifled his laughter, only to don a serious face.

"And that's why you're my number one guy, Vinny," he said as he clapped his hand on his son's shoulder, doing a spot on impersonation of the Godfather. "I can always count on you to make sure that business is done fast and done right."

"Hey, fuggedaboutit," Vinny said as he waved off the compliment.

"You shouldn't be encouraging him like this, Antony," Mrs. Valentine sighed, not at all as amused by their antics as her daughter was, who felt no need to stifle her laughter.

"You know he's only trying to entertain, Bella," her husband replied in defense of their son. "The boy's just a natural performer, like his sister. Speaking of which, Cupcake, you never told us how picture day went." Cat's brown eyes went wide as all attention was back on her.

"It was cancelled," she informed them.

"Why would they cancel picture day?" Mr. Valentine asked.

"Ummm...because the Flour Bomber was attacking students as they got their picture taken?" Cat couldn't understand why she seemed unsure about answering the question, but the bewildered look she got from her parents was enough to quell her doubts.

"What are you talking about, Caterina?" Mrs. Valentine asked. "What's a Flour Bomber?"

"Well, he's this boy who runs up on people and hits them in the face with a bunch of flour," the petite teen explained. "The first time he came to Hollywood Arts..."

"You mean this guy's done something like this before?" Her father interrupted.

"Yes, Daddy," Cat nodded. "That time, he just bugged us because he was bored. But me, Jade, Beck, and Andre caught him and got him to stop. Now, he's back and he's been ruining everyone's pictures. That's why Ms. Helen cancelled picture day today and said it would be tomorrow." Cat watched as her mother shook her head in disbelief, her father ran a hand through his hair, and her brother began to nod to himself.

"I just find it hard to believe that someone would assault children with flour for no reason," she wondered aloud. Cat looked down at the floor in defeat, believing that once again her stories were being dismissed as make believe. Sensing his sister's current mood, Vinny wasted no time in rushing his sister for a hug.

"Don't worry, Kitty," he said. "If that Flour Bomber tries to get you, that super hero guy will come help you again!" Cat watched her parents' focus immediately snap towards her and her brother, prompting her to believe that she would soon repeat the events of her video chat with her friends.

"Vinny, what do you mean, 'Super Hero Guy'?" Mr. Valentine asked his son.

"Kitty was saved by a super hero when those bad guys tried to hurt her last night," he explained. "She told me all about it. Right, Kitty?" The redhead began to feel anxious with what she felt would result when she told her parents everything about Cube Fist Man, even contemplating sticking to the 'Good Samaritan" story Mr. Vega had given her mother. One look towards her brother, however, gave her some hope that her parents would readily accept the facts as he had.

"Right," she finally said. "A superhero showed up and stopped the muggers from hurting me. He wore a red bandana, white jumpsuit, red gloves and boots, and had red cubes on his hands. He said his name was Cube Fist Man, and ran away before Mr. Vega showed up and took me home." A wave of relief overtook Cat as she watched her parents calm demeanor remain as they listened to her story. After taking a moment to process their thoughts, Mrs. Valentine looked towards her son, who was beaming at the image his sister had described.

"Vincenzo, would you kindly go to your room?" She asked. "Your father and I need to speak to Caterina alone." Vinny looked towards his mother, then shifted his attention to his father. Mr. Valentine merely nodded his agreement for his wife's request.

"Aye aye, ma'am," he replied, giving a swift salute. He marched up the stairs and returned to his room, leaving the rest of his family at the bottom of the stairs. As they heard his door shut, the parents turned to face their daughter, who felt her small smile fade as they suddenly looked extremely concerned.

"Caterina, what were you thinking?" Mrs. Valentine asked.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Cat replied, unsure of what her mother was trying to imply.

"I mean, what were you thinking telling that story to your brother?" She explained. "You know well enough that we shouldn't tell him anything like that. He might actually believe you." The petite teen couldn't help but feel her sense of hope be snuffed out in an instant. Once again, she was being told that what she had seen couldn't have happened, spurring on her anger.

"I'm NOT lying!" She shouted. "Why does everyone think that I'd lie about this?" Her voice waivered ever so slightly, and she felt the warmth of a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Cat, it's just too strange to believe," Mr. Valentine told her. "And you know that Vinny's not good at self control, especially when he sees or hears something related to action. Remember how I had to convince him that the strange looking fruit in the supermarket wouldn't give him stretching powers? Or how your mother had to keep him from attacking that plumber who saw Sylvio and said that he hates turtles?" Cat remembered how his antics had spurred from some shows and games he had seen, and completely understood why her parents were concerned. However, it gave her no comfort knowing that her parents took her fact as a ridiculous story.

"We know you don't mean any harm, Caterina," her mother interjected. "But you should've told him that someone tried to hurt you and Mr. Vega stopped them, instead of creating a wild story." With that, the redhead felt her rage come to a boil. With the police and her friends all saying she wasn't telling the truth, her parents' disbelief was the final straw for her.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" She cried out, letting her tears fall freely. She didn't wait for a response, rather she sprinted up the stairs in an attempt to put as much space between her and her parents as she reasonably could.

"Caterina!" She heard her parents call out to her simultaneously, but refused to acknowledge them out of fear of saying anything she'd regret. As she reached the top of the stairs, her brother had opened his door in order to see what was going on.

"Kitty?" He began to ask. Cat, however, ignored him as well, wasting no time in entering her room and slamming the door, causing it's echo to resonate through her home. She collapsed onto her bed, covering her face with the nearest pillow to muffle her sobs. After a few seconds, she heard a knock at her door.

"Don't worry your little, red head about everyone else, Kitty," Vinny said through the door. "Even if they don't believe you, it doesn't matter as long as you believe you. If you say Cube Fist Man is real, then the rest of them are full of chiz. See you at dinner." Cat listened to the sound of his footsteps as they walked away from her door and into his own room. While she appreciated what Vinny was trying to convey, it didn't stop her from remaining in her room for the rest of the day.

* * *

"What's going on, Cat?" Jade asked as she turned into the Hollywood Arts parking lot. "You aren't being your usual, perky, annoying self."

"I haven't?" Cat asked in response. While she acted oblivious, she knew her goth friend would catch on to her mood. After her talk with her parents, she didn't feel like skipping down the driveway to Jade's car, tell the story about her surfing brother, or change the radio to the pop station and sing along to the songs like she normally would whenever Jade gave her rides. Instead, she only said hello to her friend and sat quietly as they went to school.

"Don't try to play dumb with me, little girl," Jade warned. "Something's bugging you, and I want to know what it is." As she cut the ignition and removed the key, Cat wasted no time in unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door.

"I don't wanna talk about it," the redhead curtly said before shutting the door and turning towards the entrance. It wasn't long before Jade caught up with Cat, letting out an exacerbated sigh as she matched her stride.

"Whatever," she muttered. "I'll find out eventually, or Vega will. She'll keep asking you until you crack."

 _She can try_ , Cat thought. _I'm not bringing it up if I can help it._ As the two entered the Hollywood Arts hallway, the saw Tori standing near the entrance as if she were waiting for someone she knew.

"Hey, guys!" She exclaimed as she approached them. "You didn't happen to see Beck or the others on your way in, did you?"

"No, and you don't need to mention Beck first," Jade snapped, leary of the latina's mentioning of her boyfriend. While Tori would normally defend herself, she let out a nervous sigh instead.

"Oh, no," she said. "This means they're going to be late."

"But we still have ten minutes before the warning bell," Cat wondered aloud. "Why are they going to be late?" In response, Tori pulled out her PearPhone, opened her text messages, and turned the screen towards the goth and redhead.

"They texted me and said that they got stuck in some traffic on the way to school," she explained. "It also seemed like they were on different roads, so there's no telling when any of them get here!" While Cat began to look worried for the well being of her friends, Jade raised a curious eyebrow and let a glint of jealousy flash in her eyes.

"Why did Beck text you and not me?" She asked.

"Will you forget about that?" Tori requested. "Instead, think about what's going to happen if we get our picture taken before they get here. What if the Flour Bomber flour bombs us?"

"C'mon, Vega, quit worrying about the stupid Flour Bomber," Jade sighed. "Helen said that she'd get someone to keep him away from us. Besides, chances are he's got better things to do today."

"But what if...?" Cat began to interject, but her attention was captured by a student from the photography club running up to them with his camera clutched in his hands.

"Okay, girls!" He shouted as he knelt down. "Give me your best smiles!" Acting on impulse, the girls dropped the conversation they were having and grouped together. Jade put her hand on her hips and gave the camera a smirk, while Tori decided to give a large smile and took on a slightly turned stance. Cat wrapped her arms around her friends and began to laugh, feeling that she'd want a picture of her laughing in the yearbook.

"Fantastic!" The photographer grinned as he readied his camera. "Now, on three. One..." As he began to count, Tori briefly glanced down the hall and, when she saw who was approaching them, quickly let out a gasp.

"Oh, come on!" She cried out, prompting Jade and Cat to focus towards the sight of a young man in an American flag themed jumpsuit, red ski mask, and ski goggles running towards them. In his right palm, he had a large pan filled with flour at the ready.

"No..." Cat whispered.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Jade shouted.

"Two..." Before they could try to stop the photographer, the Flour Bomber was already within range. He drew his hand back, aiming directly at the girls' faces. Instinctively, they shut their eyes and covered their heads with their arms.

"THREE!"

At the final number, the sound of the school doors banging open and footsteps rushing towards the scene was enough to prompt the trio to open their eyes to see what was going on. They witnessed a red cube flying towards the flour launcher in an uppercut, connecting with the hand, and launching the powder into the air in a large plume. As they followed the white sleeved arm towards the owner, Tori and Jade couldn't help but let their jaws hang agape in shock at the masked man. Cat, however, let her smile grow wide at the sight of her supposedly imaginary superhero in her school. He wasted no time in following up his defensive punch with an offensive one, connecting a straight directly to the chest of the Flour Bomber, sending the girls' attacker backwards.

"You know, it's rather rude to ruin such a great photo opportunity," the hero said sternly to his opponent as he took a fighter's stance. While his focus was on the Flour Bomber, the girls had managed to find their voices.

"No way..." Jade muttered in disbelief.

"Is that...?" Tori began to ask, only to have Cat cut her off with the answer she was seeking.

"CUBE FIST MAN!" She gleefully exclaimed. This prompted the hero to turn towards her and her friends, dropping his stance and serious demeanor to give them a polite smile.

"Well, fancy seeing you again so soon, miss," he greeted the redhead. "I had no idea you went to this school. I'm guessing these are your friends?" While the latina and the goth had yet to gain their grasps on the situation, Cat nodded in response.

"Yep," she said. "This is Tori and Jade."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Cube Fist Man said, giving them a nod and a wave. Not sure how else to respond, Tori waved back while Jade continued to stare in disbelief. The block handed brawler didn't seem bothered by their stunned status and turned his focus back on Cat.

"Well, I'd love to chat more, but first things first, I'm afraid that I still have some business to attend to," he said. As Cat nodded, she noticed that the Flour Bomber had risen to his feet. He had taken off his flour launcher, and held a small white pouch in it's place.

"Look out!" She cried, pointing in the direction of the Flour Bomber. As Cube Fist Man turned towards his opponent, he noticed that the pouch was already in mid flight, directed at his eyes. Thinking quickly, he let his right cube fly up, hitting the pouch with the backside of his 'fist' and watched as the projectile flew into the face of a student with glasses and unkempt blonde hair. While the hero immediately regretted his actions, his regret worsened when the pouch burst into a cloud of flour that covered his entire face and upper torso.

"Oh, no!" Cube Fist Man exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" Taking opportunity of the distraction, the Flour Bomber pulled out what appeared to be a large sock and began swinging it around like a flail. A faint cloud followed the weapon's path, while the sound of it cutting the air caught the attention of the masked hero. Just as the sock was about to come down on the masked hero's head, it missed it's target after he stepped to the side. The jumpsuited villain wasted no time, following up his failed attack with a seamless flow into a horizontal swing. Cube Fist Man responded by a quick duck and popped up to give a counterpunch of his own. The attack grazed the chest of the Flour Bomber, who stepped back and prepared to go back onto the offensive with another flour pouch in his off hand.

While the two masked men continued to trade blows, the student body had huddled around the scene and watched the battle unfold. While they marveled in disbelief at the spectacle amongst the faint cloud of flour, the redhead amongst them was the only one smiling. She was overjoyed that Cube Fist Man came to her rescue again, knowing in her heart that he'd stop the Flour Bomber before he ruins any more students' pictures. Along with that, she knew that her friends wouldn't be able to say she was lying or imagining anything ever again.

"I gotta give it to you," Cube Fist Man admitted as he dodged another swing of the flour flail. "You're really good, but I need to put an end to this now." The Flour Bomber chuckled in response and threw his flour pouch, aiming once again for the eyes of the hero. He raised his cubes towards his face, blocking the flour pouch from hitting it's intended target. The result was a large cloud of flour that overtook the area that the cubic crusader held, obscuring him from the crowd. Letting out a triumphant laugh, the villain turned to make his escape through the crowd.

"THIRD POWER..." The determined roar stopped the Flour Bomber mid step, whose curiosity overcame him as he turned to face the source of the voice. What he saw was the right cube of the masked hero flying full force towards his head from the flour cloud, connecting directly in his goggles. He let out a grunt of pain as the rest of Cube Fist Man emerged from the dust and put the rest of his body behind his blow.

"...PUNCH!" Cube Fist Man's arm fully extended, causing the Flour Bomber to reel backwards into the arms of the school's guidance counselor and a bald acting teacher with bare feet. They wasted no time in restraining the fallen foe by holding his arms behind his back.

"Woah, now," the bald teacher said. "That was quite a show!"

"Now's not the time to review, Sikowitz," the guidance counselor said. Before he could begin to get Sikowitz to help him take the Flour Bomber to the principal, their focus soon fell upon the masked man in the white jumpsuit and cube shaped fists standing before them. For a brief moment, everyone remained silent as they finished processing what they had witnessed. It wasn't long before the roar of a cheering crowd filled the halls, all hailing praise for their masked savior. Cube Fist Man responded to their kindness with a small chuckle and a salute before turning his attention to the principal rushing towards her staff, who kept the Flour Bomber within their grasp.

"What in the name of heaven is going on around here?" She demanded as she approached the scene, quickly focusing on the jumpsuit wearing figure. "Is this that Flour Guy, Lane?" The guidance counselor responded with a nod.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Turns out, this young man stopped him." He pointed towards Cube Fist Man, whom Helen quickly found and gasped at.

"Another freak in a mask?" She muttered under her breath. As she was about to yell at the block handed brawler to leave immediately, she quickly found an opportunity to seize.

"Well done, sir," she cried out, shocking the masked hero. "I'm glad to see you were able to handle our problem. On behalf of the school, I'd like to thank you for what you agreed to do for us." As she approached him, hand extended to shake his cube, the confused hero was trying his best to figure out what was happening.

"But, ma'am, I..." he began to say before being cut off by the woman.

"Stuff it, Blocky," she whispered. "The students think I got some guy to keep that flour punk from bothering them, and you so happened to show up. Now, play along before I call the cops on you." Cube Fist Man began to tense up, fearing the repercussions of Helen's threat. With that in mind, the hero placed his right cube under his arm, removing his hand to offer it towards the principal.

"...I am more than happy to help out," he finished, taking her hand and giving it a hearty shake. "When it comes down to it, I refuse to stand by when my help can be of some use." Helen grinned at her victory over the hero, turning towards the student body.

"There you have it, people," she began. "The Flour Whatever's finished, and you can thank this guy for it. Now, go on about your day." She gave Cube Fist Man a nod and left him, prompting the crowd to resume cheering him for his actions. He waved them off, only to approach his former opponent and remove his mask, revealing a teenager with brown hair and a bruise across his face.

"Look, I have a feeling that you aren't all that bad," Cube Fist Man said, snapping the groaning teen's attention towards the masked man. "Why were you ruining these students' pictures?" The Flour Bomber turned his gaze towards the crowd, specifically towards the three girls he had targeted just before Cube Fist Man had showed up. Ultimately realizing his defeat, he hung and shook his head.

"I was having fun back then," he muttered. "Then they ruined it. What else can I do when my mom spends all day baking and I have nothing else to do? They took away my fun, so they deserve what they get." Tori and Cat responded with a look of shock, while Jade impulsively reached towards her boot for the pair of scissors she kept there in hopes to intimidate the one who almost ruined their picture. The masked hero, however, blocked the eye contact between his former enemy and the girls.

"Hey, I can understand that boredom is rough, but you don't have to ruin everyone else's day to have fun," he explained with a tone of empathy. "Instead, why don't you try your hand at baking? If your mother is good at it, and you give it a shot, maybe you'll rekindle your relationship with her along with finding a way to end your boredom. You can even sell what you bake to others. What do you say?" He offered his uncubed hand towards the young teen, nodding towards the teachers as a signal to release their hold on him. The Flour Bomber, after taking a moment to process the advice, allowed a smile to slip from his pained face and his hand to take the gloved one of his former enemy.

"Guess you got a point there," he admitted. "The name's Tom, by the way." Cube Fist Man gave a warm smile as he shook the teen's hand in return.

"Glad to be of service, Tom," he said. "Best of luck to you." He released his grasp on Tom's hand, who wasted no time in exiting Hollywood Arts through it's main doors. After the former villain left, Cube Fist Man turned his attention towards the student who had been struck with the flour pouch, recognizing him as the only victim of the fight. Before he could approach him, however, the photography club student had cut him off and took a candid snapshot of the student.

"Gotcha, Sinjin," he said as he reviewed the photo. "Hope you like it once the yearbook comes out." Sensing the victimized student's state of emotion, Cube Fist Man rushed towards the photographer and cut off his path.

"Come on, now," he pleaded. "It's obvious that this wasn't the best picture of him. Can't you at least give him a chance to clean up?" While the masked man's plea was heard, the photographer shook his head in response.

"Sorry, pal," he said. "Rules say that whatever picture I took is final. No take backs here." Before the masked hero could argue any further, the camera man had already disappeared into the crowd. Letting out a defeated sigh, he turned his attention to Sinjin, who had gained a defeated posture.

"Listen, Sinjin," Cube Fist Man began. "I can't even begin to express how horrible I feel for what happened. If there's anyway to make this up to you, please, tell me now. I'll do everything I can to help you." The flour covered student didn't respond, but rather, he ran off past the crowd and beyond the hero's sight.

"Cube Fist Man!" Cat's voice echoed out, turning the masked man's attention towards the redhead and her friends. As the trio stopped in front of him, he replaced his cube back onto his hand.

"Sorry, miss..."

"Cat!" She exclaimed, cutting off her hero. "My name is Cat. You don't have to call me 'miss' anymore."

"Apologies, Cat," Cube Fist Man continued. "While I'm glad I could help all of you out, I can't help but feel terrible about failing that young man." As he finished sharing his feelings, he was met with the goth waving him off.

"Don't worry about him," she said. "He's a creep."

"That doesn't excuse what happened to him, Jade," the masked man interjected. "He deserved a good picture just like the rest of you, and I took that away of him by being careless in that fight. I can't make him forgive me, so I'll just hope for the best and do whatever is in my power not to make the same mistake twice." Jade was taken aback by his resolve, while Cat beamed in admiration.

"Guess you were right after all, Cat," Tori admitted. "Sorry for not believing you." Cat looked up at her latina friend, only to give her a genuine smile and a shake of her head.

"You believe me now," she said. "Now, you know that there's a superhero out there." The trio turned their attention towards Cube Fist Man, who couldn't help himself from forming a slight blush at being refered to as a superhero.

"I'm just doing whatever I can to help, Cat," he admitted. "As you well know, like the angles of my fist, I will fight for what is right!" He raised his right cube to emphasize his point, causing Cat to nod admiringly, Tori to politely smile, and Jade to roll her eyes.

"HEY! CUBE FIST MAN!" A voice called out, snapping the hero's, as well as the girls', attention to another member of the photography club. "How's about a picture? Can't let a hero get away without one, right?" Before he could attempt to deny the student, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his midsection. He looked down to see the redhead smiling up at him. He watched as Tori and Jade stood next to him as well, each taking similar stances to the ones they had when they were about to take their initial picture.

"Nice!" The cameraman said as he peered through the lens. "And...smile!" The block handed brawler brought his cubes to his waist and gave a confident smile, while the girls remained as they had when the photo opportunity was presented. After the flash, the photographer looked at the screen and smiled.

"This'll be great in the yearbook," he admitted. "Thanks again, Cube Fist Man." He quickly returned to the crowd, leaving the four subjects where they stood.

"Well, this has been a wonderful experience, but I've overstayed my welcome," the masked hero said. "I better get going now."

"Wait!" Cat cried out, stopping her hero in his tracks. "You need to meet my other friends! Andre, Robbie, and Beck!" Cube Fist Man turned to face the redhead, whose brown eyes seemed to beg him to stay a while longer. Even her friends had managed to appear like they wanted him to stay for their other friends.

"My sincere apologies, Cat," Cube Fist Man eventually sighed. "Maybe someday, I'll meet your other friends, but today's not that day. Just trust me when I say that your troubles are over, so don't ever worry. Just keep on being happy, okay?" The masked hero focused on the redhead, who responded with a smile and a nod. After returning the smile, Cube Fist Man rushed past the crowd and out the door, leaving the redhead and her friends behind. Soon after, the warning bell for the students to get to their first period classes rang out, prompting the crowd to disperse. Even after her friends had left her standing in the hallway, Cat Valentine continued to look outside the window of the school towards the direction he had ran off, her smile still prominent on her face.

"You saved me again," she said to herself. "Thank you."

* * *

 **Now everyone knows that there is a hero amongst their midst. Granted, he's an odd one, but what else would you expect from a Schneider world? What do you think? Is the Block Handed Brawler the hero the VicTORIous universe deserves, or is he something along the lines of another freak in the freak kingdom? Lemme know in a review. I do like them, seeing as how they help shape the finer points. Until next time...**

 **Peace.**


	5. The Creator's Growing Confict

**Happy Belated St. Paddy's Day. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves to the fullest of their legal capabilities. Here's a little filler to tide you over. After all, we can't just have Cube Fist Man punching all of the time. And those other characters need some time too. Don't worry, the Cubic Crusader isn't going to be gone for long. Just wait a bit. Until then...**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Cat lingered in the hallway for only a second more before turning to rush towards her first period class. Before she began her trek, she heard the banging of the doors and the heavy breathing of two familiar sounding people. She turned to see Beck and Andre bent at their waists, both attempting to catch their breath.

"Where were you guys?" She asked the boys as she approached them.

"Traffic... terrible..." Andre panted. "Sped... to get here... on time." As the musician took his time to regain his breath, the Canadian was able to multitask his breathing with observing the main hall's current state. He noticed that the floor was covered in a layer of flour and had footsteps scattered amongst the dust, causing his curiosity to overcome the exhaustion he shared with his friend.

"Cat," he began. "Did the Flour Bomber show up before we got here?" The redhead nodded in response, which caused a look of shock to overtake her friends' faces and prompted them to survey the area in search for the villain.

"Don't worry about him," Cat interjected, snapping their attention towards their friend. "Somebody came around and stopped him before he could get to me, Tori, and Jade." After hearing the redhead's explanation, the young men's combined interest was piqued to the point that they had too many questions to make a decision where to start. As the duo pondered their next question, Cat wasted no time in resuming her previous task.

"Sorry!" She shouted as she started off in the direction of her first period class. "I need to get to class! Don't be late!" As she rushed off, she heard the sounds of Andre's and Beck's footsteps follow suit and hurry towards their respective classrooms. The petite teen soon burst through the door, causing the teacher and every other student in attendance to stare back at her.

"Well, Ms. Valentine, I suppose congratulations are in order," he announced in a sarcastic tone. "You managed to be the last student to arrive to my class on time today." While Cat would normally be taken aback by the rude inclinations of her teacher, she surveyed the room and noticed that the seat that Robbie took was vacant. As she made her way to her assigned desk, the bell to indicate the start of the first period pierced the air.

Robbie must've gotten into a really bad traffic jam, the redhead wondered. I hope he's okay... Cat felt her focus turn towards the lecture on how the catwalk had revolutionized the concept of practical special effects, but soon be grasped by the hushed whispers of her nearby peers.

"You saw him?" A female whispered to another.

"Saw him?" Her friend replied. "I got a video! Guaranteed that I'm posting it to the Slap." This prompted the petite teen to subtly pull her pearPhone out of her pocket and open the Slap app. She wasn't surprised to find that the first things she saw on her feed were posts, comments, and a few shaky videos of Cube Fist Man fighting against the Flour Bomber. Cat couldn't believe that in one morning, she could go from hopeless to overjoyed by the odd intervention of a superhero at the right moment. She could barely contain her smile as she placed her phone back into it's resting place just as she heard the sound f the classroom door crashing open.

All attention in the classroom was abruptly focused on the bespectacled teenager panting in the doorway, with one hand on his knee and the other supporting his smaller, wooden companion. The redhead immediately recognized the teen as her nerdy friend, and was the only one to smile towards him. The other students stared back indifferently, while their teacher felt no need to disguise his disgust.

"Mr. Shapiro, you are extremely late," the man chastised. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry, sir," Robbie replied between breaths as he rose to face his teacher. "There was a bad accident on Freelance Avenue, and it jammed up traffic so bad that I..." The young man's explanation was cut off by the sight of the instructor raising his hand and shaking his head in disgust.

"I've heard enough of your excuse," he stated. "For being late to my class, you now owe me a 500 word essay on the invention and importance of the sandbag." While the nerdy teen squeaked in shock at the punishment, his hand held friend shook his head in disgust, despite his lack of facial emotion.

"You didn't let him finish, you scuz...MMPH!" The puppet's defensive protest was cut off when his master placed his hand over the former's mouth, looking towards the teacher in fear. While many of the students, Cat included, admired how Robbie had defended himself, their instructor did not share their sentiments.

"Let's make that 1000 words, thanks to Rex's interjection," he added, lacing the puppet's name with sarcastic venom. The nerdy teen hung his head in defeat, refusing to say another word as he took a seat at his desk next to his friend. After waiting for the teacher to return to his discussion, Cat turned towards Robbie and leaned in to aid her whisper.

"Sorry, Robbie," she said. "You didn't deserve that."

"It's ok, Cat," he replied, giving her his best attempt at a reassuring smile. "If anything, I got off light. I know everything about sandbags!" As Cat giggled at her friend's statement, she noticed that his shirt and brow were drenched.

"Why are you covered in sweat?" She inquired.

"Oh...my...car's A/C is broken," he explained. "The LA heat and running to class must've made me really sweaty." He followed up his defense with a nervous chuckle, while Rex shook his head in what the petite teen could interpret as disgust. Regardless of the puppet's demeanor, Cat felt no issue in believing her friend's story.

"Kay kay!" She smiled, prompting Robbie to smile back.

"Hey, Cat," he began to inquire, "I saw the janitor sweeping up white stuff when I ran in. Did the Flour Bomber show up before I got here?" Rather than explain the story of the how Hollywood Arts' returning tormentor was stopped by the block handed brawler, she instead replied with a knowing giggle that left her friend stumped. The duo returned their focus on the lecture, yet while the young man seemed focused on his friend's response, Cat couldn't help but look forward to the lunch period that they shared, where he would soon be brought up to speed with her and their female friends.

* * *

"I'm sorry for not believing you, Cat."

That line had been repeated so often that Cat had quickly perfected her forgiving response towards her circle of close friends. At this point, it almost made the redhead feel brief flashes of anger towards her friends for their attempts to bend over backwards to gain her forgiveness.

"It's ok, Robbie," she smiled. "I'm just happy you guys realized that I wasn't lying about Cube Fist Man." Tori and Jade corroboration, along with the hallway gossip and Slap videos, had made fast believers of the groups' male faction.

"Wow," Andre sighed. "Can you guys believe it? We have a real life, no fooling, straight up superhero in Hollywood, man."

"It's still so strange, but it's true," Tori added. "Cube Fist Man... Who would've guessed?"

"Well, Cat must've had some eye for the future, seeing as how she called it without knowing," Jade mused, looking towards her red haired friend. "How did you do it?" All focus was back onto Cat, who immediately turned her attention towards her lunch. She focused on shifting her food around her plate, hoping that her friends would lose interest and move on to another topic. When she looked up to check on them, however, her friends maintained their collective gaze locked on their smallest friend.

"Uh..." Cat began, "I...have no idea." The redhead's response allowed her conflicted emotions to shine through her happy demeanor. While she knew that she was truly happy that her friends believed her about the cubic crusader who came to her rescue, she couldn't help but reminisce about how she initially felt once she realized who her hero claimed to be. Even after seeing him a second time, she couldn't help but ask herself how a figment of her imagination could come to life with no explanation whatsoever. Her gaze quickly lost it's focus and appeared misty to the casual observer, her friends were quick to recognize Cat's mood turning for the worse. After a brief exchange of glances, the five high schoolers silently agreed not to bring the aforementioned topic up anymore.

"Well, good job on you, Cat," Beck said. "You managed to know Cube Fist Man existed, and even met him before anyone else. That's gotta be something to be happy about, right?" The canadian's smile brought back the redhead's usual demeanor, causing her to giggle and nod in response.

"Guess so," she smiled. "Thanks, Beck." Her friend nodded back, satisfied that he managed to quell the doubt's in her mind even if it were for a brief moment.

"Hey, I think we're missing out on an important question here," Rex interjected, drawing all attention back towards him. "How does he whaz with those cubes on his hands? Seriously?" This prompted Tori, Andre, and Beck to roll their eyes, Jade to scowl, Robbie to look towards his companion nervously, and Cat to stare back towards the wooden member of her friends in bewilderment. Before they could continue the conversation, the school bell rang out to alert the student body that the lunch period was over and that they should progress to their next period classes.

"We can talk about how Cube Fist Man whazzes later," Tori stated as she rose from the table. "We shouldn't be late for Sikowitz's class." The group silently agreed with the Latina and promptly joined her in discarding what was left of their lunches and rushing towards the classroom. The group managed to arrive with time to spare, allowing them to get settled into their seats and await the arrival of their eccentric instructor. As the rest of the class entered the room and took their seats, the sound of the bell rang out. The classroom noticed that the students had all arrived on time, but their teacher was nowhere to be found. Before someone could question his whereabouts, the bald teacher had burst through the door to his classroom and stroll up towards the stage.

"Alright, everyone," he said as he turned towards his students. "Good to see that all of us managed to make it here on time." His oblivious statement prompted many to stare back in a bewildered state, while one was more than willing to be vocal about her disbelief.

"But you were late, Sikowitz!" Jade piped up, showing no restraint in her defiant tone. The bald teacher wasted no time in grabbing a beach ball from his prop storage and hurling it towards the goth teen with all of his might. Jade, however, wasted no time in pulling up a pair of scissors and puncturing the ball. The hiss of the air escaping the projectile filled the room, causing Jade to deliver a smirk towards Sikowitz, who managed to mask his shock fairly well.

"Well done, Jade," he started. "Never question me again, thank you. Now, today's lesson will be on a character trait that we've tended to gloss over. That trait is...heroism!" His students began to exchange knowing smiles as they quickly figured out that Sikowitz was referring to the actions of that morning.

"Yes, selflessness facing off against selfish desires," the eccentric teacher continued. "Protecting those who can't protect themselves, the hero will give everything they have without any regards to their own safety and fight with all their might to put an end to the evil deeds of the villain. So, today, we'll act out a scene of my recent design." His final sentence piqued the interest of the young men and women in their seats, allowing them to exchange hushed whispers between themselves.

"The scene will be played out by... Tori, Jade, and Cat!" Sikowitz declared, pointing towards the three girls as he said their names. "Jade will portray the helpless victim at the mercy of the villain, who will be played by Cat. Cat's character will be determined to destroy all of the scissors in the city, starting with Jade's. And Tori will be the hero who comes to stop Cat, and she will be... none other than the real life hero of Hollywood Arts, Cube Fist Man!" The redhead's eyes went wide with shock and quickly turned towards Tori, who looked back in confusion. Not thinking rationally, Cat jumped out of her seat and glared towards the bald teacher.

"Sikowitz!" She exclaimed, prompting not only her teacher but her classmates as well to turn towards her. "Let me play Cube Fist Man!" The bald teacher stared back at the redhead, a brief flash of bewilderment on his face as Cat determinedly stared back. He soon, however, gained a sly smile and chuckled in response to the request.

"Very well, Cat," he said. "Tori will be the villain instead. Now, take your places on the stage." Jade, Tori, and Cat wasted no time as they positioned themselves for their scene. Jade grabbed a chair and sat down, placing her hands behind the back. Tori stood nearby with a pair of scissors in one hand and a prop rock in the other. Cat positioned herself at the edge of the stage in order to be outside of the scene when it was initiated.

"And...action!" Sikowitz exclaimed, prompting the actresses to start. Jade began to cower at the sight of Tori, who let a cackle out towards the roof.

"At last!" The Latina shouted. "My plans are coming along as expected! Soon, every pair of scissors in California will be destroyed. Now, no one will be able to cut paper, ribbons, or anything with accuracy ever again!" The goth teen looked towards her 'captor' in shock and fear, vainly struggling to break free from her restraints.

"You monster!" She exclaimed, donning her impersonation of Tori's voice. "You'll never get away with this!" Tori looked down towards the frightened Jade, smirking at the statement.

"And just who's going to stop me, huh?" She asked, waiving the rock in the goth's face. At that moment, Cat took the cue to jump onto the stage, placing her hands on her hips.

"Stop right there!" The redhead commanded, snapping her costars' attention towards her. "I refuse to let you continue your dastardly deed!" The brunette's expression took on one of curious shock, while the raven haired girl expressed joy at the sight of the 'hero's' arrival.

"Cube Fist Man!" Jade cheerfully exclaimed.

"Well, well, well," Tori began, placing herself between her hostage and the hero, "you've managed to find me after all, Blockhead. Unfortunately, I have the upper hand. Make a move, and the girl and her scissors get it!" The Latina held the rock over her head, maintaining it at a position that could've easily struck either Jade or the scissors. Faced with the dilemma of risking harm to the captive goth and letting the villain succeed with her scheme, the redhead began to appear genuinely confused.

 _Think, Cat,_ she thought. _He would be able to stop her from doing anything she plans. But how... How?_ Cat began to furrow her brow as she attempted to predict what the block handed brawler would attempt to meet the goal she perceived. Her attempts to compare her imagination with what she had seen in reality caused her frustration to become more prevalent, causing Sikowitz and the audience to become overwhelmed with curiosity as to whether or not the petite teen was acting or not. Sensing that the scene was beginning to go stagnant, Tori let out a cough that caught Cat's attention.

"Like I said, Cube Fist Man," she began, "make a move, and the girl and her scissors get it!" Tori waved the rock above her head to further emphasize her point. Feeling the gaze of her friends, fellow students, and her teacher lock onto her, the redhead took a brief moment to make the decision to act on instinct.

"You don't want to do that," she said, raising a fist towards Tori's direction. "Because the moment you let that rock swing, you know that I'll deliver a blow that will send you flying! If you stick to that plan of yours, you're destined to lose! So, why not attack me? If you stop me, then no one will get in your way." As she finished her ultimatum, Cat briefly surveyed her audience and noticed that Sikowitz seemed to approve of her choice of dialogue. As her focus went back to her costar, she noticed the brunette alternating her gaze rapidly between the rock, the scissors, Jade, and the hero. After a moment of thought, she dropped the scissors and turned to face the petite teen.

"Excellent point, Blockhead," she declared. "After I finish you, I'll go on and destroy every pair of scissors I find!" Tori let out a dramatic laugh as she lunged towards her enemy. Cat raised her fist, preparing for an improvised stage fight as the square fisted savior.

"And SCENE!" Sikowitz shouted, snapping all focus back onto him. The eccentric teacher seemed unperturbed by the angry glares of his students, knowing that each of them wanted to see an action scene.

"C'mon, Sikowitz!" Andre groaned. "They were getting to the good part."

"I've seen everything I wanted to see," the teacher explained. "Thank you girls! We'll continue this lesson tomorrow." Before anyone could question him, the bald teacher had opened up a side window and exited the room, leaving his students to their own devices.

"What's up with that?" Tori asked as she and her costars rejoined their group. "Why did he only do such a small scene?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see Cat punch you," Jade added with a dark grin. Tori returned a defiant smirk of her own paired with a sarcastic laugh.

"Good job up there, Cat," Robbie began. "But why did you hesitate near the end?" All focus turned towards the redhead, who preemptively looked down at her shoes to avoid their stares.

"Just didn't know what to say...that's all..." She spoke barely above a whisper, prompting her friends to change the topic of conversation. As they moved onto a discussion about what Cat figured was a party, she began to reflect on why she had hesitated in the first place.

 _How is it still so confusing?_ She asked herself. _I created him, but I don't know anything about him at all. Why?_

* * *

 **Seems that there's some problems Cat has with Cube Fist Man. Then again, when you imagine a super hero and he so happens to come to life and takes on a personality of his own, wouldn't you have some questions as to how. Anyways, did you enjoy yourself? Any guesses as to who's going to stir up trouble next? Lemme know in one of those...what do you call them? Oh, right, reviews. Until next time, peace.**


	6. Interviewing the Ideal

**Starting to wonder where I go hiding half the time, myself. Being home got my head back in the game a bit, and now I got a new chapter for you. If I keep the ball rolling, hopefully I'll have an action chapter up soon. That being said, this is more exposition and insight. All part of a balanced story.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

A few days had passed, and the talks about the school ground still managed to focus on Cube Fist Man's victory over the Flour Bomber. Students began using the hashtag, "AnglesOfMyFist", on The Slap and it rapidly found it's way to the top of the trending list. Some had even gone as far as to design T-shirts with red cubes on them and the caption, "Hero of Hollywood Arts", across the chest. One particular female had even gone as far as to claim to be romantically linked with the Cubic Crusader. Despite the growing popularity of the hero within the school, a specific group of students managed to avoid being swept up in the fad so easily.

"These nubs need to get a life," Jade muttered as she took her place amongst her friends, minus the ventriloquist, as they sat down at their usual table. "All he did was punch the Flour Bomber. Any one of us could've done that."

"True, but he was the only one to apologize to Sinjin after his photo was taken," Tori replied. "Would you have done that?" Jade raised an eyebrow in response to the inquiry, her eyes showed the group exactly the answer that they expected from her.

"...Good point," was all she said before turning her attention towards her lunch. "Still, doesn't make Trina saying she's dating him defendable." The raven haired teen shot a sly smirk towards the Latina, who rolled her eyes at the mentioning of her sister's antics.

"Come on, girls," Andre interjected. "I mean, just because he did the whole 'Nice Guy, Super Hero' thing, it doesn't mean that the school's going crazy over him."

"And that explains why you're wearing that shirt how?" Beck countered with a chuckle as he gestured towards his friend. The young women soon picked up on the fact that their musically gifted friend had been wearing the shirt Hollywood Arts had been circulating.

"Hey, this was only ten bucks," he offered in his defense. This prompted the majority of the group to laugh at his expense, while a certain redhead merely stirred her fork around her ravioli, forcing the pasta pillows to dance aimlessly around her plate. While all of her friends took notice of her absent minded actions, Tori was the first to speak to the petite teen.

"Everything ok, Cat?" She softly asked, not entirely sure as to what was on the mind of her normally carefree friend. Her words ceased the redhead's conduction of her lunch's dance recital, and brought her brown eyes' focus to her friends. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't manage to find the words she felt comfortable with giving them.

"Still thinking about how Cube Fist Man came to life?" Beck followed up, allowing Cat to regain focus and nod in response. The Canadian teen nodded understandingly, while his girlfriend wasted no time in interjecting her opinion. "Who cares, Cat?" She groaned. "Seems like it doesn't matter if you 'imagined' him first, or he's been around since our parents were born. He's real. Get over it." In response, Tori's jaw hung agape, Beck's hand ran through his hair, and Andre felt himself changing focus between his four friends rapidly. The common factor of the three was that they were all concerned at how the redhead would respond. Much to their surprise, Cat's face was more determined than upset. The petite teen began to open her mouth to start defending herself, but her attention was directed towards the member of the group who had been absent.

"Hi, Robbie!" She greeted with a wide smile and matching wave.

"Hey, Cat," he returned with a matching smile. "Guys." The remainder of the group, save for Jade, politely acknowledged the ventriloquist as he took his seat amongst them.

"Where've you been, man?" Andre inquired. "You're never late for Ravioli Day."

"Well, you know how the school paper has a page of The Slap.com?" The nerdy teen responded, taking a moment to give his audience a chance to respond. Cat nodded vigorously, Jade rolled her eyes, and the rest quietly muttered their versions of 'yes'.

"Well, with Cube Fist Man becoming so popular around here, and me being the only one who updates the page, the editors asked me if I could do a video interview with him," he continued. At the mentioning of a video interview, his friends attentions began to resonate the same level of curiosity.

"Robbie, are you joking?" Tori inquired. "You're going to interview Cube Fist Man?"

"How are you going to get him to meet up with you?" Beck followed up.

"Is it going to be live?" Andre asked.

"Are you going to meet up with him by yourself?" Jade concluded the interrogation, making an obvious glance towards Cat. "Or do you think someone can join you?" The focus of the teens returned to Cat, who began to feel her cheeks go flush in response.

"Do you think I can join you, Robbie?" She asked, reinforcing Jade's previous question. "I'd like to ask him some questions, too." While she gave her friend a soft smile in hopes to win him over, Cat soon felt her hopeful grin fade away and match the curly haired teen's somber look.

"I wouldn't mind, Cat, but..." He began, pausing to brace himself for the potential backlash. "...I already did the interview." The majority of Robbie's friends responded in vocal disbelief, while the redhead felt her eyes return towards her lunch and let out a subtle sigh.

"What do you mean you 'already did the interview'?" Jade asked, putting emphasis on her repeated statement. "How did you manage to pull that off?" These initial inquiries managed to open the floodgates of muddled questions from the remainder of his friends, save for the redhead, all of which carried the same tone and ultimate desire.

"Alright!" Robbie shouted, waving his hands in the air. "Give me a minute and I'll tell you!" This prompted the vocal members of his clique to find silence, in hopes that his explanation would satiate their curiosity.

"So, I wasn't sure how to get ahold of Cube Fist Man, so I made a spotlight signal and set it up on the Hollywood Arts roof in hopes that he'd show up," the nerdy teen explained. "Sure enough, he did, and he gave me my interview."

"Sounds like a load of chiz," Jade remarked. "I'll believe it when I see it." This prompted the silent agreement of the majority of the clique, save for Cat. The nerdy ventriloquist, much against his usual demeanor, had an air of confidence as he shrugged off the disbelief of his friends.

"Just be sure to check the Slap tonight," he said, making sure to give the redhead a soft smile as he did so. "Everyone should be happy with what I managed to get out of him."

* * *

Cat's wave to Jade was most likely ignored as the raven haired teen sped off towards her home, but that had no negative effect on her smile. Instead, as the car faded into the distance, the redhead perkily approached her front door and promptly let herself into her home. As she entered her domicile, however, the sound of tribal drums echoing through the halls stopped her from shouting her return. Instead, she followed the rhythm towards the living room, where she saw a man in a pink shirt and a skirt made of dead grass dancing about the coffee table.

"Eekum Bokum, Eekum Bokum! Oohbadabo, Oohbadabo! Eekum Bokum, Eekum Bokum, Eekum Bokum, Ee-yo-ah!" The man chanted repeatedly as he danced, causing a shiver of fear to jolt through Cat. She contemplated calling Jade, who'd happily speed her way back towards the redhead's house and scare off another creepy guy on her behalf, but Cat couldn't help but approach the figure.

"Uhhh..." She managed to get out as she reached towards his shoulder, hoping to get him to stop his dance. In response to the sudden sound, the man turned towards the young woman, revealing a large skull mask with red feathers decorating the top staring back at her with wide eyes.

"OOHMENAKA!" He exclaimed, causing Cat to fall backwards and cover her face in response.

"AAAAAHH!" She screamed. This managed to shock the witch doctor out of his trance, prompting him to remove his skull mask and reveal his wild blue hair.

"Kitty, it's just me!" Vinny exclaimed. "I was just trying out this spell I learned online! It's ok!" His half explanation was enough to quell her fear, but it was soon replaced with bewilderment.

"What spell?!" She shouted. Her brother turned and gestured to a bowl of noodles, giving her a wide grin.

"I ordered some ramen from the Needy Noodle, but they took too long and I got hungrier," he explained. "So, I'm using the growth spell to make the bowl bigger. Should be enough to share, if you want some."

"Uhh..no, thanks, Vinny," she said. "I've got something else I need to do. I'll wait for dinner." Cat had realized that Robbie's video should've gone up by the time she got home. She rushed for her room, leaving her brother to his antics in the living room. The redhead wasted no time in grabbing her laptop and settling herself onto her bed, pulling up the and opening the news tab. Sure enough, she found a video posted by Robbie with a title frame depicting Cube Fist Man standing on what appeared to be a roof.

He actually did it, she thought, hovering the mouse over the video. Although her curiosity begged her to click the link, a strange force caused her to hesitate. For a brief moment, she feared that the video wouldn't live up to the image she had built in her mind. Before she could make a decision, a shadow cast over her screen, causing her to turn and face its owner.

"Is that the hero who saved you, Kitty?" Vinny asked. He waited patiently for his sister to nod her affirmation, to which he returned a large grin.

"Way neat!" He said. "What are we waiting for?" Taking the mouse from his sister, the blue haired young man ignored the protests of the red haired teen and opened the video. Knowing that it was too late to protest, she turned towards the screen and joined Vinny as the video began to play.

* * *

The video opened with a shaky view of the cityscape, the moonlight aiding the buildings in giving them their glow. As the view began to steady out, it turned towards a cluster of clouds that had a spotlight fixed on it. A cube made of shadows formed in the center of the circle of light, making it obvious as to who it was meant for.

"Ok..." Robbie's voice said from behind the camera. "This is Robbie Shapiro, recording from the Hollywood Arts rooftop. So far, I've been waiting about 45 minutes with no sign of Cube Fist Man, but I'm sure that he'll..." He was soon cut off by the sound of feet landing behind him, prompting the ventriloquist to spin towards the source. The video soon found its intended target, showing that the cubic crusader had answered the call.

"I have to admit, I never thought that I'd have my own signal," he casually opened up with. "How'd you know I'd answer to it?" The hero had a rather cavalier attitude to the situation he was in, but still managed to retain a politely humble tone in his voice.

"Uh... Call it a hunch?" The interviewer offered. This prompted the masked man to chuckle and nod as he casually approached the cameraman.

"So, I'm guessing you wanted to get a one-on-one interview with me after what had happened at your school?" He suggested.

"Uh...yeah," Robbie replied.

"Well, then, we better get started," the block handed brawler said. "Also, I should apologize if I kept you waiting for long. I had a hard time trying to find the spotlight source, and you can imagine how hard it is to climb ladders with these cubes." He waved his cube gloves to emphasize his point.

"It's cool...really," Robbie's voice affirmed. "So, the first question I have for you is where did you come from, exactly?" This prompted the hero to ponder the question briefly.

"I suppose my saying that I'm just an average guy serving as an average hero wouldn't satisfy your question, right?" Cube Fist Man asked. After a few seconds of silence, the hero sighed and shook his head.

"No, I thought not," he chuckled. "Well, the simplest way to explain it is that I was born and raised here in California, and I stood by and watched an unspeakable evil carry itself out. I was young at the time, and wasn't able to do anything to help the victims. At that moment, I swore that I wouldn't let anyone suffer by my inabilities ever again."

"So, I trained on my own, pushing myself to be stronger and faster than I was the day before. Much to my expectations, I knew that my lack of formal discipline would be my ultimate limitation. So, I traveled to a secluded school in Japan that specialized in training young men and women into being great heroes. After spending some time with them, I managed to get the training I desperately needed and brought it back here. So far, it hasn't gone to waste."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Robbie commented. "I guess it's more than what I asked. On to the next question then... About the redhead that you've saved twice now..." His hesitation caught the attention of Cube Fist Man, who looked back with a confused face.

"Cat?" He responded. "What about her? Are you afraid that I'm going to pursue her in a romantic way?" His question nearly prompted Robbie to drop his camera while he began to nonsensically ramble, tripping over his words so much that his dialogue was unintelligible.

"Hahahaha!" The cubic crusader heartily laughed. "I'm sorry about that, friend. I didn't mean to startle you. Don't worry, I wouldn't dream about getting in your way."

"Uhhh..." Robbie managed to get out. "We'll get back to that question later. So, why the cubes?"

"Oh, these?" The hero said, bringing his cubed gloves up to his face. "I know they seem strange, but I can't help it. Something about them... I feel stronger with them. I want to fight for what is right, and with the angles of these cubes, I feel like I have the ability to do so. Kinda strange, I guess." The hero gave a sheepish chuckle as he finished.

"Well, the reason I ask is because of Cat," Robbie pushed on. "You see, a while back she came up with this hero idea at a hospital, and you're pretty much that idea come to life." The ventriloquist's words seemed to strike a chord with the masked man, who seemed to tense up at the mentioning of the red haired teen. The cubic crusader turned his gaze towards the skyline, letting out an audible sigh.

"I had no idea that I might've stolen from someone," Cube Fist Man said, his focus still on the cityscape. "And here I thought I was doing what I felt was a calling. What felt...natural..." He turned his gaze towards his fists, doubt causing him to frown.

"I..." Robbie began to say, before the super hero turned towards him.

"Hey, don't you worry about a thing," Cube Fist Man grinned. "I don't plan on giving up doing what's right. I might just have to change how I go about it, but that won't matter too much." He let out a confident chuckle. For a brief moment, the interview seemed to pause there, with the only sign that the video was still playing being the wind blowing the ties of the cubic crusader's mask.

"I guess...that's a good thing, then," the ventriloquist's voice hesitantly replied, as if he were trying to choose his next words carefully. "So, how about some more questions a lot of students have?"

"Sounds like a great idea...I apologize, what's your name again?" Cube Fist Man began, realizing halfway that he hadn't been introduced to the student.

"Oh, it's Robbie," the nerdy teen offered. "So, what do you do for fun?"

"Training mostly," the hero answered. "I do some forms of puzzle and problem solving to keep my mental health up to par with my physical."

"Such as?"

"Rubik's Cube for attention to detail, Yahtzee for probability..." Cube Fist Man began to list, much to the unseen shock of the reporter.

"Ok... well, then, what fighting style do you use?" He asked, thinking he already knew the answer.

"Well, I've learned a few fighting styles," the block handed brawler replied. "Mostly for a defensive strategy against them, but not many for my own use. The one I primarily use is a fusion of Shishigami Ninpo, Pilgrim Style, Ryūsui Gansai-ken, and Ripple Breathing to maintain stamina."

"Uh...anything else?" Robbie asked.

"No, that's all," Cube Fist Man replied simply. After a brief pause, an audible sigh was heard from behind the camera.

"Ok, well is there anyone you're dating at the moment?" The ventriloquist followed up.

"Not at the moment," the hero quickly offered, his gaze rapidly searching the horizon. "Pardon my interruption, but do you have the time?"

"Sure," Robbie said, shuffling behind the camera to pull out his pearPhone. "It's 10:12." His statement prompted a look of fear in Cube Fist Man's face, who clasped his cubes against his temples.

"Oh, no!" He exclaimed in exuberant fashion. "I should've been back almost an hour ago!" He immediately turned towards the ladder and broke out in a dash. Before he reached the rungs, however, he turned back towards the camera and gave a salute.

"Oh, almost forgot," the hero began. "Thank you for the interview. I hope I was able to answer all of your questions." Before the ventriloquist could respond, the hero had leapt down the ladder well, out of sight.

"Well, there you have it, Hollywood Arts," Robbie said. "That was the hero, Cube Fist Man."

* * *

"Y'know, uhhhh, I thought the guy was gonna say that he uses, uhhh, boxing to fight bums," Vinny said after the video has ended in a vaguely famous accent. "What did you think, Adrian?" He looked towards his redheaded sister, who appeared to be focused on the final image of the Hollywood skyline on the screen. Her thoughts seemed to focus on how he didn't realize he was the living product of her imagination, and was still willing to be a hero, even if it wasn't necessarily what he started out as. His demeanor was sincere as far as she could tell, but she wondered if she'd actually want that to happen.

"And zees is vat happens ven ze patient goes under un trance," Vinny interjected, mimicking a German accent. "She has become distracted, und hence, shall not respond to ze poking of her hair, like so." Her brother wasted no time in delivering a series of light pokes to random sides of her head. As he predicted, nothing seemed to phase her. After having his fun, his smile faded quickly as he began to worry about his sister's mindset.

"C'mon, Kitty," he pleaded. "You gotta snap out of it. I thought you'd be happy to watch a video with the hero guy in it. Why aren't you smiling?" Cat merely glanced towards her brother, offering him a small smile in an attempt to reassure him.

"Sorry, Vinny," she finally said. "I've just had a long day. I really need to get some sleep. Besides, your soup's getting cold." The mention of his meal was enough to distract him from his sister's potential predicaments and lept towards the door.

"Almost forgot!" Vinny exclaimed. "Thanks, Kitty. Goodnight!" Cat watched as her brother slammed the door behind him as he returned to his meal. Afterwards, she began to take herself up on her excuse and went through making a mental checklist of things to do before setting in. Her train of thought was halted by the notification sound coming from her computer. The redhead was quick to act on instinct and check what was sent to her.

Andre? The teen thought as she realized who sent her the message. Wonder what it could be? As she opened the link, she noticed that all of their friends, along with almost half of Hollywood Arts had said yes to what Cat soon discovered was an invite. After giving it a quick look, she let out a happy giggle.

"Yay!" She exclaimed to herself. "That last time was so much fun." The petite teen wasted no time in clicking on the 'yes' button, forsaking her plan of rest for one to prepare for the upcoming Saturday night event.

* * *

 **Well, got a little bit of a history on the cubic crusader, debunked a few rumors, and a cliffhanger for what's up next. Did you learn something about the hero of Hollywood Arts? Tell me about what you liked (or didn't like) about it. Happy Holidays.**

 **Peace.**


End file.
